NPR's The Salt recently revealed that the British have developed quite a passion for baking. In Why Britain Has Gone Mad About Baking, they announced "In the last year alone, some 9 million Britons have taken up baking, according to market research firm Mintel. Indeed, the home-baking market grew a whopping 84 percent between 2007 and 2012, according to Mintel. Increases included sales of all baking-related products, from flour to decorating items, baking tins, mixers, even cake stands."

Attributable to the financial crisis, which "has encouraged the nation to stay at home, finding low-cost leisure activities," this passion has found several outlets.  The outlet we found most fascinating was cake clubs. According to NPR, "Over the past three years,  cake clubs like Hill's have been growing in popularity in the U.K. The concept is similar to a book club - except with cake. Often there's a theme: new recipes only, international or other mandates. Hill, who created her Clandestine Cake Club in 2011 (there are now 168 chapters in the U.K. alone), likes to build excitement by keeping meeting spots secret until the last possible moment."

Our congratulations to our friends across the Atlantic who have found a constructive and tasty way to deal with adversity. And you can see the index for the Clandestine Cake Club Cookbook here.  Bake on...

We were remiss earlier that we didn't acknowledge the winners of the Munchie Awards. As explained by Braiser, which published the results, these awards were created by Andrew Zimmern (most famous for his show, Bizarre Foods). "Zimmern and a panel of 26 experts (chefs, journalists, and media personalities alike) compile a list of nominees in each culinary category which are then open to a public vote."

You can check out the entire list at Braiser's article, but here are the winners of the Taste Makers award (they also announce Tasty Bites and Delicious Destinations - both geographic awards):

TERRIFIC TASTEMAKERS

• Best Food Reality TV Show:  Chopped (Food Network)
• Best Food TV Personality: Alton Brown, Good Eats (Food Network)
• Best Food Magazine: Cooking Light (Time, Inc.)
• Best Food Blog or Site: Serious Eats
• Best New Cookbook: Bouchon Bakery, Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel (Artisan)
• Best Food Podcast or Radio Show: NPR: Food (NPR)
• Best Chef: Hugh Acheson, Empire State South, Atlanta

Our congratulations to the winners and, most especially, the voters. Excellent choices, everyone...

Discussing chocolate is always appropriate, but never more so than approaching Mother's Day. So here's a shout out to The Daily Meal's article, Truth Behind 4 Chocolate Myths. By busting these myths, they produce even more reasons than you may already have for eating chocolate. Check out the article for the full details, here is a synopsis:

"Myth #1: Chocolate is bad for you
Eaten in moderation, chocolate can be good for you. Flavanols - antioxidants that have been linked to heart health - aren't just found in tea and red wine. Chocolate has them too, along with dietary fiber and assorted minerals.

Myth #2: Chocolate is an aphrodisiac
Chocolate stands alongside oysters and asparagus as an alleged agent of sexual arousal. [We're not so sure about this - but a gift of chocolate never hurts the mood.]

Myth #3: Chocolate causes acne
Even though mom said it for years, chocolate does not cause acne. 

Myth #4: Chocolate is loaded with caffeine
Unless you're consuming it in large quantities, chocolate isn't likely to keep you up at night. Milk chocolate has about 12 milligrams of caffeine per serving, with dark chocolate clocking in at 20 milligrams to 40 milligrams per serving. To put that in perspective, an 8-ounce cup of coffee contains anywhere from 65 milligrams to 120 milligrams of caffeine."

Of course it's certainly no myth or secret that chocolate is the base for some of our best desserts and beverages, but don't forget chocolate can make an appearance in savory dishes. As a gentle reminder, and for another way to consume this latest health food, check out these online recipes for Mexican mole sauce featuring chocolate.

And don't forget to also continue to check out our Mother's Day Pinterest page for more great Mother's Day ideas and recipes.

Photo courtesy of The Daily Meal

The N.Y. Post published today some news that we thought our members would find interesting. According to recent ratings, the "Food Network shed 17 percent of its audience during the 12 months through April 30.  The average primetime show on the cable channel, which features such series as "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives," slipped to 1.06 million." Also interesting, by contrast HGTV (Home and Garden TV) showed a 10% increase in viewers.  We're not sure quite what it means, but given that Food Network has almost completely abandoned cooking shows for competition and other specialty shows (although it still does deal entirely with food), maybe viewers are getting a little tired of the cupcake wars.

And while we're on the subject, for those who'd like to understand the Food Network better, Forbes just published an interesting article, "Why There's No 'Cooking with Honey Boo Boo' on Food Network." It's a history of the network, and does indicate that there is a line beyond which the Food Network won't go: "At the end of the day,"says Lowe, "you have to stand for something."

It's well-known that touring artists often have very specific requirements for food, etc. in their touring contracts. And it's kind of fun to read them, if for nothing more than realizing what a fantasy world must be like. So when the Daily Meal published Beyonce's touring contract requirements, we paused to look them over.

Essentially, as far as food goes, the requirements weren't outlandish - nothing like Van Halen's famous requirement for M&Ms with all the brown ones carefully removed. But one of Beyonce's requirements  - for a titanium straw - did pique our curiousity. According to the report,  "the singer 'forked out $900 for titanium straws, which will be used to drink a special alkaline water that's served at exactly 21 degrees.' She also requires a hand-carved ice ball to suck on after every performance to cool her throat (which makes perfect sense to us), while asking for glass platters of almonds, oatcakes, and green-only crudites. As for junk food? It's apparently all been banned."

So what is a titanium straw and why require one? According to ThinkGeek,

"We have three or more reasons why you need a Titanium Straw. First, titanium is tasteless and odorless, which means it won't affect your beverage's taste. Also, it has very low thermal conductivity, which means your Titanium Straw will resist getting too cold or too hot (depending on your beverage of choice). Titanium is also super strong and light weight, which means you can stab it right into the fruit (or person, if you're a vampire) you wish to drink. We tried it with oranges and grapefruits and it worked well, however we don't recommend trying watermelons or rocks. Finally, you need a Titanium Straw because it is awesome. And you are awesome, too - the perfect match!"

One peculiarity, however, is that, although it's out of stock, ThinkGeek is selling their titanium straws for under $20. So what makes for a $900 titanium straw? Maybe because it must have been hand made - in fact, we couldn't find one for sale and in stock anywhere online. So if you strive to be as "awesome" as Beyonce, and have a little excess titanium lying around, here's a way to do it.

Most people interested in food-related matters are certainly aware by now of the Paleo Diet - but may not really understand it. This article from Epicurious, Scrutinizing the Paleo Diet,  presents a fair analysis of the pros and cons. It's actually a review of a new book,  Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We Live by  Marlene Zuk. The Epicurious article also links to an excerpt of the book in The Chronicle of Higher Education,  Misguided Nostalgia for Our Paleo Past. It's quite an interesting article, especially where it elaborates on Zuk's concept that we're suffering under "paleofantasies," i.e. 

"Given this whiplash-inducing rate of recent change, it's reasonable to conclude that we aren't suited to our modern lives, and that our health, our family lives, and perhaps our sanity would all be improved if we could live the way early humans did. Our bodies and minds evolved under a particular set of circumstances, the reasoning goes, and in changing those circumstances without allowing our bodies time to evolve in response, we have wreaked the havoc that is modern life."

Yet, as Zuk explains,  it really isn't that simple. "The paleofantasy is a fantasy in part because it supposes that we humans, or at least our protohuman forebears, were at some point perfectly adapted to our environments." And she asks some reasonable questions, "Recognizing the continuity of evolution also makes clear the futility of selecting any particular time period for human harmony. Why would we be any more likely to feel out of sync than those who came before us? Did we really spend hundreds of thousands of years in stasis, perfectly adapted to our environments? When during the past did we attain this adaptation, and how did we know when to stop?"

And going back to looking at just the diet, it's evident that it's actually impossible to follow a true Paleo diet, "even if we wanted to eat like our distant relatives whose diets we do know about, we couldn't because most of the plants and animals they were eating don't exist in the same form today." 

That's not to say that following a Paleo diet may not be a good thing, especially for people who, by following it, find it easier to give up unhealthy eating habits. As Zuk writes, "But in a larger sense, we all sometimes feel like fish out of water, out of sync with the environment we were meant to live in. If gnawing on that rib or jogging barefoot through the mud is therapeutic, enjoy. But know that should you wish to join us, the scientific evidence will gladly welcome you to the 21st century, in all its inevitable anxious uncertainty."

So if you want to pursue this further and are curious to try out the Paleo diet, here are the cookbooks from the EYB library that will help you along, sorted by popularity. And let us know how you're doing.

Photo by CastleGrok

According the The Guardian, 1970s kitchen gadgets are making a comeback. And we must say, when they started listing the gadgets, we had to agree they're right. Among the ones they list are:

• Sodastream -  Jamie Oliver's recent tribute (along with Lorraine Pascale's), created an 85% sales increase for this gadget which allows you to easily add carbonation and flavors to water to make homemade sodas (Jamie made sparkling wine).
• Standmixers
• Breadmakers
• Steamers
• Hostess Trollies

They also listed a "teasmade" which seems to be a nifty little bedside device with an alarm clock and electric water heater that allows you to enjoy your first cup of tea before getting out of bed.

While we were contemplating this list, another one occurred to us - the Vitamix. Commercials for the Vitamix were ubiquitous in the 60's and 70's and they've made a comeback with the new  emphasis on smoothies and health food.

So are there any retro appliances that you've rediscovered? To quote that illustrious philosopher, Yoggi Berra, it's déjà vu all over again.

One of the most prestigious culinary schools in the U.S. - the Culinary Institute of America or CIA - recently experienced a student revolt. About 20 percent of their bachelor candidates (4-year students) walked out to protest falling academic standards and extremely high tuition rates. Several factors led to the walkout:

• Declining admissions standards designed, according the students, to increase enrollment. Specifically, incoming students used to need six months of experience in a professional kitchen; now the requirement can be satisfied with  front of the house experience, like serving or busing tables.
• Collapse of the dress standard.
• Tuition that now can approach $100,000 to get a full bachelor's degree.

Grub Street New York took a look at the protest and believes the heart of the matter is that "The underlying debate is - as always - about the value of culinary school, but also, as Lydon implies, what the value of that education really is as soon as a cook gets behind the line. For the moment, the high cost of going to class far outweighs the benefits of failing miserably in the kitchen, which remains one of the most undervalued experiences a chef can have."

It seems that to attract students whose eyes are as much on the prize of winning celebrity status as learning to cook, the curriculum has had to be expanded to include far more than chef skills. And, with that, the value of a graduate has gone down as established chefs complain about "useless culinary school graduates who come to the kitchen door with brand-new knife kits and a lack of calluses."  In fact, awhile ago the Eater polled a number of chefs about the actual value of culinary students in Chefs Weigh In: Is Culinary School Worth It? The general consensus was "No" - on-the-job training or community school education is just as valuable.

Of course, the perspective here is that the student will only be pursuing a career in a professional kitchen. One question that doesn't seem to be posed is whether a culinary degree helps position you for a job elsewhere - such as food media, private chefing, or restaurant management. Personally, and as a graduate of a far less prestigious (and expensive) culinary school than the CIA, we feel that you definitely need to know food and know how to cook to pursue any career in food, but there are other less costly ways to gain that experience. We'd love to hear your views.

By the way, we should note that the CIA has responded to the walk-out with the following: "Following a walkout by some upper-level students at the Culinary Institute of America alleging a decline in admission standards and lax enforcement of the school dress code, an administrator said the students were misinformed, admission standards have not declined and the dress code leaves little room for interpretation."

NPR at The Salt recently asked one of the food world's most crucial question: Do Cookies Really Taste Better Dipped in Tea? This is the quandary no less an expert than Heston Blumenthal "recently set out to discover on his TV show, Heston's Fantastical Food. With the help of a high-tech gadget inserted up the nose, he found that a chocolate-covered biscuit dipped into hot black tea did indeed have more flavor than an undunked one."

In fact, he was extremely enthusiastic:

"'The results are astonishing!' he exclaims. The wet biscuit not only released more cookie flavor, but the aromas also burst into Blumenthal's mouth more quickly.' Dunking makes the biscuit taste more biscuity,' Blumenthal says. 'That's complete evidence that dunking is better than not dunking.'

For a complete explanation, check out the article. In the meantime, we'll add "biscuity" (or, for those of us in the U.S. , "cookier") to our vocabulary.

Photo by Daniel M.N. Turner/NPR

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting video that discusses the challenges facing  "supertasters."  A supertaster not only tastes things more intensely, they have stronger feelings about what foods they like and they don't like. And there are good reasons to determine if you are one - in fact, many supertasters may be at risk for certain illnesses like colon cancer, since they tend to avoid many dark green vegetables, which are often bitter. Plus they often strongly prefer salty foods. However, It's not all bad - supertasters can fend off certain harmful bacteria better than others. 

So how do you know if you're a supertaster? In the accompanying article (which requires a subscription to read), they tell you that supertasters are more often women than men, and more often found in Asians and African-Americans than Caucasians. About 15% of the people in the U.S. are supertasters.

There are some more scientific approaches to determine if you're a supertaster: "Some experts say one way to tell if a person is a supertaster is to count the number of papillae in a small area after dying the tongue with food coloring, a test that can be done at home. Another common test, which can be purchased online, is to give people a particularly bitter chemical such as PROP or PTC, which are similar to a compound found in many dark-green vegetables. Most people find PROP and PTC bitter, but not unbearable, while others don't taste it at all. For supertasters, the experience is often nauseating."

And although it's genetic, there are ways to compensate to help you eat more vegetables and other foods perceived as intensely bitter. "Scientists say research to identify more taste receptors and their associated genes could help dietitians tailor advice to different palates. 'I think we're close to the point where, instead of a dietitian saying, 'Eat less fat, eat more fruits and vegetables,' they could figure out what foods you do or don't like with a survey or genetic test," says John Hayes, a professor of food science at Penn State and lead author of a 2010 study showing supertasters' preference for salt. "They could say, 'You know, I want you to eat more fruits and vegetables but you're going to find it hard to eat kale or Brussels sprouts. Maybe you should try sweet potatoes and squash instead.' "

And what we found particularly interesting is that "A relatively high proportion of professional chefs are supertasters." That may explain why some great restaurants leave you cold.